Ford Transit Connect: Difference between revisions
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To build up interest and awareness in North America, Transit Connects specifically equipped as "mobile showrooms" were taken to industrial parks and other appropriate venues in 13 U.S. urban areas in May 2009, with the goal of offering 3,000 test drives to small business owners.<ref>http://www.media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=30371</ref> |
To build up interest and awareness in North America, Transit Connects specifically equipped as "mobile showrooms" were taken to industrial parks and other appropriate venues in 13 U.S. urban areas in May 2009, with the goal of offering 3,000 test drives to small business owners.<ref>http://www.media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=30371</ref> |
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To circumvent a 25% tariff levied on imported commercial vans |
To circumvent the [[chicken tax]] a 25% tariff levied on imported commercial vans (dating to the Johnson administration's 1963 response to Germany's import tax on US chicken<ref name="wsjtransit">{{cite web |
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| title = To Outfox the Chicken Tax, Ford Strips Its Own Vans |
| title = To Outfox the Chicken Tax, Ford Strips Its Own Vans |
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| publisher = The Wall Street Journal, Matthew Dolan, September 22, 2009 |
| publisher = The Wall Street Journal, Matthew Dolan, September 22, 2009 |
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| url = http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125357990638429655.html}}</ref> Transit Connects arrive in Baltimore from Turkey on cargo ships owned by [[Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics]]. They're then driven into a warehouse, where workers from the shipping company's WWL Vehicle Services Americas Inc. convert them into commercial vehicles by removing the rear seats and replacing the windows with fixed metal panels.<ref name="wsjtransit"/> The removed seats and panels are then recycled.<ref name="wsjtransit"/> |
| url = http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125357990638429655.html}}</ref>), all Transit Connects coming into the US are imported as "wagons" carrying windows and rear seats with seatbelts.<ref name="wsjtransit"/> Transit Connects arrive in Baltimore from Turkey on cargo ships owned by [[Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics]]. They're then driven into a warehouse, where workers from the shipping company's WWL Vehicle Services Americas Inc. convert them into commercial vehicles by removing the rear seats and replacing the windows with fixed metal panels.<ref name="wsjtransit"/> The removed seats and panels are then recycled.<ref name="wsjtransit"/> |
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== Electric vehicles == |
== Electric vehicles == |
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Revision as of 18:24, 22 September 2009
| Ford Transit Connect | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Ford Motor Company |
| Production | 2002- |
| Assembly | Kocaeli, Turkey Craiova, Romania |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Compact MPV |
| Body style | 3-door minivan 4-door minivan |
| Layout | FF layout |
| Platform | Ford C170 platform |
| Related | Ford Focus Ford Focus RS Ford Tourneo Connect |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1.8L Duratorq TDCi Diesel I4 2.0L Duratec Gasoline I4 |
| Transmission | 4-speed automatic 5-speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | SWB: 2,664 mm (104.9 in) LWB: 2,912 mm (114.6 in) |
| Length | 2007-09 SWB: 4,308 mm (169.6 in) 2004-06 SWB: 4,278 mm (168.4 in) LWB: 4,555 mm (179.3 in) 2010- LWB: Template:Auto in 2010- SWB: 4,275 mm (168.3 in) |
| Width | 1,795 mm (70.7 in) |
| Height | Pre-2009 SWB: 1,814 mm (71.4 in) LWB: 1,981 mm (78.0 in) 2010- LWB: Template:Auto in 2010- SWB: 1,815 mm (71.5 in) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Ford Escort Van |
The Ford Transit Connect is a compact panel van developed by Ford Otosan[1], designed by Peter Horbury and introduced in 2002 to replace the older Ford Escort van range, which had ceased production in the same year.
The Ford Tourneo Connect, a leisure activity vehicle, is a Transit Connect with side windows and rear seats. All North American Transit Connects start their lifes as this Tourneo Connect to circumvent the 25% chicken tax if imported from Europe as a commercial van instead of as a ′wagon′.[2]
The Transit Connect shares few components with the Transit; rather it employs the Ford C170 platform of the original international Ford Focus — the same platform currently used with the North American Ford Focus.[3] The Connect is manufactured by Otosan in an all new production plant at Gölcük, near Kocaeli, Turkey, and in Romania by Automobile Craiova.[4]
The Ford Transit Connect was awarded "Van of the Year 2004" by Professional Van and Light Truck Magazine.
Ford Transit Connect X-Press
The Ford Transit Connect X-press is a much faster[5] version of the Ford Transit Connect. It was created by a team of Ford engineers using the 212BHP[6] engine from the Ford Focus RS as shown on Fifth Gear.
Facelifted (2009-): global model
Since mid-2009, the Transit Connect has been imported to the United States and Canada. It debuted in the U.S. at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show and the 2010 model was introduced at the following year's show on February 11, 2009.[7]
Initially, only the long wheelbase version of the van[8], outfitted with a 2.0L four-cylinder gasoline engine and 4 speed automatic transmission will be offered in the U.S., whereas elsewhere, the 1.8L diesel engine and 5 speed manual transmission is the only available powertrain. An electric version will follow about a year after launch, converted by Smith Electric Vehicles at a U.S. facility.[9]
To build up interest and awareness in North America, Transit Connects specifically equipped as "mobile showrooms" were taken to industrial parks and other appropriate venues in 13 U.S. urban areas in May 2009, with the goal of offering 3,000 test drives to small business owners.[10]
To circumvent the chicken tax a 25% tariff levied on imported commercial vans (dating to the Johnson administration's 1963 response to Germany's import tax on US chicken[11]), all Transit Connects coming into the US are imported as "wagons" carrying windows and rear seats with seatbelts.[11] Transit Connects arrive in Baltimore from Turkey on cargo ships owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics. They're then driven into a warehouse, where workers from the shipping company's WWL Vehicle Services Americas Inc. convert them into commercial vehicles by removing the rear seats and replacing the windows with fixed metal panels.[11] The removed seats and panels are then recycled.[11]
Electric vehicles
Ford has announced a battery-powered version of the Transit Connect in the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. It features a 21 kWh lithium-ion phosphate battery pack, a 50 kW permanent magnet motor, and a single-speed transmission, for a 160-km (100-mile) range and top speeds of about 113 km/h (70 mph). [12] [13]
Aftermarket
Smith Electric Vehicles, has launched the Smith Ampere, a new product aimed at the light van sector. Ampere, which utilises the Ford Transit Connect chassis, and will be joint branded Ford and Smith. [14] It will be assembled in the former Trans World Airlines overhaul hanger at Kansas City International Airport. Production is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2009.[15]
See also
References
- ^ http://www.kobifinans.com.tr/en/sector/0102/16414
- ^ To Outfox the Chicken Tax, Ford Strips Its Own Vans, Wall Street Journal, September 22 2009
- ^ "Ford Imports Transit Connect from Europe". Nextautos.com, Evan McCausland, 02/06/2008.
- ^ Ford to start production on September 8 in Craiova, South Romania
- ^ http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/45035/ford_transit_connect_xpress.html
- ^ http://jalopnik.com/225660/speedy-delivery-the-ford-transit-connect-x+press
- ^ http://www.media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=29829
- ^ Ford 2010 Transit Connect brochure, ref. # 10TCONCAT
- ^ http://www.freep.com/article/20090209/BUSINESS01/902090358/1014/Plug-in+Ford+Transit+Connect+to+make+its+debut+in+2010
- ^ http://www.media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=30371
- ^ a b c d "To Outfox the Chicken Tax, Ford Strips Its Own Vans". The Wall Street Journal, Matthew Dolan, September 22, 2009.
- ^ http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/03/02/geneva-2009-fords-all-electric-tourneo-connect?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_autoblog
- ^ http://ford.digitalsnippets.com/2009/03/02/ford-reveals-new-tourneo-connect-with-battery-electric-powertrain/
- ^ Smith Electric Vehicles - News
- ^ Smith Electric to begin building delivery vans in KC this summer - kansascity.com - Retrieved March 27, 2009
External links
- Official UK site
- Official US site
- transit-Connect.net owners site and knowledge base for the transit connect
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